This past week I got a “Google Alert” that someone had written a blog about me and the “Johnny the Bagger®” movie. It is always wonderful to know that others are talking about your work, but this time I was horrified! This person wrote a sarcastic, scathing blog post about me and the story of “Johnny the Bagger®,” using four letter words and vitriolic accusations. He even called me “a soulless CSP giving her bullshit talk” and felt the whole story was one of using people, calling Johnny the bagger, “a poor exploited Down syndrome teenager whose entire identity the video kindly subsumes into his job description.”
His summary paragraph: “At this point my mind spins, trying to deal with seventeen kinds of horror all at once. First, this guy, in addition to working for the company when he’s off the clock, has doubled or tripled his workload while he’s on the clock. Second, he’s unintentionally done the same for whatever innocent bystander is working the register on his line. Third, how starved for genuine human interaction must we be in our society if something as chintzy as a printed out quote on a scrap of paper can make us come back, over and over, obsessively, for more?”
My first reaction was to want to talk with him to share my sincerity and belief in my message that one person CAN make a difference. Then I realized that with this kind of negativity, I would only be opening myself up to more pain. So, my next reaction was to write to many of my closest friends and supporters and ask them to write a response to him to defend me and Johnny. Fortunately, several of them wrote back immediately and suggested that even though they would be thrilled to speak up for me, it would only add more fuel to his fire, more traffic to his blog, and really accomplish nothing.
Finally, my precious assistant, Laura, sent me a quote that really touched my heart: “Forgive Your Enemies…..it messes with their heads.” And then this morning when I was posting a quote on FB and LI, here are two that jumped right out at me:
* “The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” ~Marianne Williamson
* “Forgive those who have hurt you, not for them but as a gift to yourself.”
* “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.” ~Dr. Chérie Carter-Scott
How very sad it is that someone can take a story that has inspired millions of people to feel that they are important and can make a difference and has turned it into something negative. Today I am keeping this person in my thoughts and prayers with forgiveness and caring and the prayer that he will be able to find some joy in his life. And in the meantime, I will JOYFULLY continue to spread the message of hope that Johnny so preciously represents.
“Go out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people.”—Mother Teresa
Barbara and the actor who played Johnny the Bagger
Another story of CARE-ing!
I just received this email from an audience member:
I have to share a neat “Penny” story with you (see the blog entry on “The Power of Five Pennies.”) . The other night I had taken down a bunch of helium balloons after our Women’s Cancer Awareness Day at the Co-op, and I had missed one. I took it down, and just as I was going into the hall to see if any children were left, the mall janitor was walking by. I smiled and gave him the balloon. He told me thank you and that he was going to tie it to his “chariot.” He then walked over and tied it to the handle of his cleaning cart. We both laughed, and I told him what a joyful attitude he had.
As I was going back to my office, I remembered I had a quote on my wall from Martin Luther King that said we should do our jobs with the same passion as Beethoven conducted a symphony or as Micheangelo painted. I photocopied the the quote and took it to him as he was cleaning the cafeteria. He smiled and thanked me, and I again went back to my office.
A few minutes later he came rushing in and thanked me again, now that he had read the quote. He asked me to sign it for him as he thought it was such a lovely gift he was going to frame it. We spent the next few minutes talking and getting to know each other. He had worked for the company ten years, one year less than me, yet we had never visited.
Isn’t it sad that we get so busy and wrapped up in our own lives, we miss the beauty in the people around us! Now each time I see Rueben we smile and chat a little, and I get an especially big smile when I see him go by, pushing his “chariot!” Thank you for helping us remember to appreciate others.
Love, Tammy
Hear is the quotation Tammy gave Reuben:
“If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
How precious that Tammy began to appreciate someone who had been around every day yet they had never connected on a human level. Now they have a special relationship of caring because she noticed and thanked Reuben. Whom in your daily life do you need to appreciate and thank?
For those of you who have not seen the 16 minute dramatization of my story of “Johnny the Bagger®,” you can preview it here. It is a wonderful, very realistic version of the true story about how one young man who was a grocery bagger with Down syndrome changed the entire culture of his store after hearing me speak. One of the ideas I shared with the audience of over 3000 grocery store employees inspired Johnny to add his personal signature to his work by putting a “Thought for the Day” in all the groceries he bagged.
In the movie, you will see the skeptic, the cynic, and the manager who had no idea what was going on…… as well as all the delighted customers who were willing to wait much longer in Johnny’s line rather than go anywhere else. There are poignant parts, funny parts, and parts that will make you want to cheer. When you finish, I guarantee you will feel good all over!
ohnny putting his “Thought for the Day” into the customer’s bag
Over 7 million people have also watched the 3 minute version of the story with the words set to music which you can likewise preview, under the book, “The Simple Truths of Service” with DVD.
So many people have been inspired with the hope that they CAN make a difference, no matter what their job is, by Johnny’s story, that I want everyone to see it. Please forward these links to your friends and co-workers so that they, too, can choose to be “Johnny’s” every single day. How blessed I feel to have been the catalyst for this story and how much better our world would be with more people like Johnny!
If you are looking for a speaker or workshop for an event or training, know that the message of service I share with all my audiences is the same one that inspired Johnny the Bagger. Just go to www.barbaraglanz.com for more details or call us at 941-312-9169.
Valerie’s Happy Restroom!
Last week I experienced an amazing example of customer service – in an airport restroom, of all places! When I walked into the Ladies Room at the beginning of Terminal E in the Charlotte airport, I was greeted with a booming voice, “Welcome to Valerie’s Happy Restroom!” A lovely woman then proceeded to keep us all laughing: “Don’t worry. Pee happy. Can I find you a seat?” To everyone who came in, there was a greeting and words of mirth such as, “If you BE happy, you PEE happy!”
When I talked with her about her “job,” she said, “My mama always said, ‘If you can’t have fun at work, then you should just stay home.’ I think it is my job to make it fun — for everyone.’ ” She then told me she has FOUR videos on YouTube!
What a tribute to employee engagement you are, Valerie. NO ONE leaves your restroom without a smile!
“Service From the Heart” in a School
Francine Lazarus, the Assistant Principal at Muller Elementary Magnet School in Tampa, Florida, has spearheaded the first school initiative I am aware of to adopt the “Johnny the Bagger®” philosophy in a school system. “Service from the Heart” is their theme for the 2010 – 1011 school year.
They are going to focus on 6 core tenets of service, both internal and external:
• Service to Students
• Service to the District
• Service to Parents
• Service to the Community
• Service to Colleagues
• Service to Yourself
They plan to educate students on the service concept as well, and they will be rewarded when they display positive service behaviors.
This is the email Francine sent to me about specific things they are doing:
Hi Barbara,
We’re thrilled that you are excited about our “Johnny” initiative at school! We’ve started planning,g and the ideas keep coming…We plan to kick things off when the teachers return for the year on August 16th. The room will be decorated with pictures of shopping bags and quotes from the Simple Truths book. My principal and I plan to wear Publix aprons and have breakfast brought in for the staff.
We’re going to show the Johnny movie and then give teachers a gift of a reusable grocery bag with our school name on it. Your book will be inside the bags so they can share the message with their students. Teachers will then break up into small groups to brainstorm ways that the “Johnny” philosophy and the” Simple Truths of Servic”e can be adapted to the school setting. We will encourage them to include ideas for how they can be like Johnny and go the extra mile for our students and parents.
We plan to tie this idea in with our character education program by encouraging the students to give “service to themselves” by working hard and behaving in class. We also want them to give “service to their peers and the school community” by respecting their classmates and their teachers. We are creating a “pass” that faculty/staff can give to students who demonstrate exceptional service. Students will bring the pass to the office for a trip to our special treasure box 🙂
We have decided to put a large “Johnny” bag up in the cafeteria. Since it is “service from the heart” that we are aiming for, we will use heart cut-outs on this bag to recognize students, teachers and parents who exemplify this ideal.
I plan to recognize teachers who go the extra mile each week in my weekly staff newsletter and we will also share this initiative with parents in our monthly school newsletter.
It just so happened that I was in town on August 16 when they kicked off this initiative, so I offered to stop by and speak to the teachers.
I just finished a heart-lifting experience of working for several days with Togo’s in San Jose, CA. They are a sandwich company with high quality ingredients which uses a unique deli style 1:1 service model. Unlike Subway and Quizno’s, they offer a personal connection between the sandwich maker and the guest. The company was founded in 1971 outside San Jose State University, by a young college student with a big appetite and a little money. He also had a clear vision of Togo’s as a service organization:
It was really fun working at Togo’s. We put on a show daily, dazzling the customers with our sandwich making skills, speed of service, and friendly interaction. There was a lot of camaraderie among the crew members and the atmosphere was a bit like a circus and the customers were part of the festivities.
Jeff Sweetman, Mike Cobler, the Founder of Togos, and Barbara
However, over the years, that vision became increasingly blurred and service became re-defined as a set of tasks instead of a passion to serve. So, our cause was to bring a team together for a day to craft a new service vision, mission, values, and plan that would re-energize the franchisees and employees and give them a laser focus on their strengths – quality of food, speed, one-on-one interactions, and an edgy, fun atmosphere. And what a day it was! 😉
Jeff Sweetman, the Director of Franchise Services, took the lead in this process by holding town hall meetings with many front line employees, surveying all Togo’s sandwich club members, and collating all the complaints since the beginning of the year. It was amazing how closely this feedback correlated! We also met with the founder of Togo’s, Tony Gioia, the CEO, and several members of the Executive Leadership Team to get their support and buy-in. Finally, a team was hand selected, consisting of several employees, some key franchisees, and several corporate staff, and we spent the day focusing on our objectives. The team is called “The Johnny Project” based on my story of “Johnny the Bagger®”, showing how one person can change a whole culture.
There really ARE angels on earth! On Wednesday I flew from Sarasota, FL, to Hunsville, AL, for a dinner for the Candl Foundation, a wonderful ministry to help children learn to read. As always, I had a layover in the Atlanta airport, so I had time to have a nice lunch at TGI Friday’s in Terminal B. I visited with a number of the servers there and also met some interesting young men from Colombia, where we have had an “adopted” child for many years.
When I arrived at my hotel, I stopped in the bar to order a coke, and lo and behold, when I went to pay, my wallet was nowhere to be found! I then realized I must have left it in the restaurant at the Atlanta airport. What a panic! Of course it contained all my credit cards and personal information as well as a significant amount of money, and suddenly, I was left with no ID and no money. (Fortunately, I did have my passport in a travel wallet I carry separately in my computer bag.) Realizing I was terribly embarrassed (and probably glad I had only ordered a coke…), a gentleman at the bar paid for my drink. (Angel #1)
It took nearly 40 minutes and many calls to find a phone number for the correct restaurant. The young man at the front desk at the Holiday Inn in Huntsville tirelessly kept looking up numbers for me. (Angel #2) I initially thought I was at Chili’s (lesson: pay attention to the name of the restaurants where you eat) and since the receipt was in my wallet, I had no way of checking. However, the folks at the various Chili’s went out of their way to get me to the right place — which was not even one of their restaurants! (Angels #3)
Overhearing my plight, Don Rodgers, who was also a guest for the Foundation dinner, came over with two $50 bills and insisted that I take them so that I would not be traveling without cash. (Angel #4) I had not even thought of that!
When I finally did reach TGI Friday’s in Concourse B and shared my situation, they called a manager who happily informed me THEY HAD FOUND MY WALLET! I asked her to please open and check my credit cards, and amazingly, every one was there. What a HUGE relief!
The best part of the story, though, was when I returned yesterday through Atlanta and immediately went to the restaurant to get my wallet. I asked if they knew WHO had found it and could I talk to them. With a shy smile, out came Elaine Echols, a darling bus person at the restaurant. (MAJOR Angel #4) I gave her a huge hug, thanked her over and over, and then gave her a small reward. I told her I would be bringing her a copy of my book, “The Simple Truths of Service Inspired by Johnny the Bagger®”, when I came through Atlanta next week because she had truly been a “Johnny” in my life. When I told her I was going to write this story on my blog, she even wanted me to use her full name! 😉 Thank you, Elaine, for being so honest, and thank you, TGI Friday’s, for hiring such good people.
The moral of this experience is that there are MANY GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD. We so often hear only the bad stories that we become cynical and jaded. The rest of that day I shared this story with everyone I met, including all the Delta Airline personnel, and every single person I shared it with left with a huge smile. We all need to CELEBRATE goodness in this world.
What are your service angel stories?
Making your Place of Business a GOOD Place to Be!
I recently received a powerful email from Kim Bosler who lives in Vacaville, California. She shared how much my books and newsletters had inspired her and her husband. I was thrilled with the following message:
My husband is a dentist and is self employed, and all of your ideas are fantastic. We have transformed our office from just “get your teeth fixed here” to a place of warmth, happiness, and comfort for our patients and employees. My husband, Dr. Bosler, now has weekly devotionals with his “team” and monthly training on how to treat our guests. We serve water, juice, tea, and refreshments as people come in. We light candles and have lovely music playing, and make sure each patient has a warm neck wrap when they are seated. Customer service, mission statements, etc, are all discussed and role played at each devotional. We laugh more. We love our jobs because the bottom line is, “How happy can I make someone today?”
His production has almost doubled within the last year since we have been doing these things. It was a complete surprise, especially in this economy. I love your work, Barbara, and you have changed my life –not just spiritually and mentally, but financially, too!
What a wonderful testimonial about how little things can make a BIG difference! It affirms that by creating workplaces where people are valued and cared for, the business will come. Thank you, Kim, for sharing your commitment to both internal and external customer service. I wish I lived closer, and Dr. Bosler would be my dentist! 😉
To learn more about Barbara’s work, her books, and to subscribe to her free email newsletter, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.
VERIZON — Customer Service from Hell!
Since December 18, I have spent over 5 hours on the phone and talked with at least 9 different people at Verizon and NO ONE has taken the responsibility to help me! All I want to do is to get DSL installed in my condo. When I placed the order in November to start December 18, I was told by the salesperson that if I had problems with the installation since I am a widow and live alone with no family in the area, they would send someone out at no charge.
After two people tried to figure out the installation, I called Verizon back again, sharing what the salesperson had told me about offering help with the installation AT NO CHARGE. After nearly two hours talking with 4 different people from Tech support to Billing and a lot of hassle because they wanted to charge me $120 for the installation ( everyone had a different answer), finally Raj told me that they would come out on January 14 between 8:00 and 5:00 for $65 to hook up the DSL. I was so upset and tired of being on the phone, I agreed, even though I had been told there would be no charge.
On January 12 and January 13, I received two voice mail messages from Verizon as reminders that the tech person would be out January 14, and I would need to be home from 8:00am to 5:00pm. (They are not willing to give you any kind of time frame for the service which, in itself, is a terrible inconvenience.) After staying home all day long, by 4:00 pm, no one had come or no one had called, so I called Verizon again. This time, after 1 1/2 hours on the phone and being transferred again back and forth to different departments, Mohammed finally assigned me a case number and ASSURED me that he would schedule someone to be at my place that evening since they did not stop work until 7:00pm. AND he assured me I would not be charged since I had waited all day long with no response. Well, needless to day, no one came or called, and Mohammed, who took all my phone numbers, never called me back.
The next day I called Verizon a third time, this time furious and determined to get my money back and cancel the service. Again, even with my case number, I was transferred to three different people, and after over 1 1/2 hours on the phone (mostly on hold!), I finally got someone in India who AGAIN ASSURED ME that he would have a tech person out AT MY CONVENIENCE during two times I gave him either Monday or Tuesday for no charge. He again took down all my phone numbers and PROMISED he would call me back as soon as he could get through to the tech people to schedule the visit. I have waited all week and NO ONE has called. In the meantime, Verizon has been charging me since December 18 for the service that has NEVER been connected.
Tomorrow I am making the final call to cancel DSL forever, NEVER to work with Verizon again. Not only are their customer service reps totally unreliable, but the different departments do not communicate with each other, and each one gives different answers. It seemed like all any of them wanted to do was to get you off the phone so that they did not have to take accountability or responsibility to really help you. Oh, my, how they need my customer service training!!!!! I will report in this blog how the final call goes tomorrow. My advice: NEVER ORDER ANY SERVICE FROM VERIZON!
Holiday Special
CARE Packages For Your Customers –
An Idea a Week to Enhance Customer Service
C = Creative Communication
A = Atmosphere and Appreciation for All
R = Respect and Reason for Being
E = Empathy and Enthusiasm
Are you building enough customer loyalty in your organization? Bestselling business author Barbara Glanz has created the ideal, hands-on customer service survival kit to help you keep your customers coming back for more. CARE Packages For Your Customers gives you 52 proven, actionable ideas for providing extraordinary service, increasing sales, and ensuring continual business success. By implementing one technique per week, you’ll deliver a complete CARE package of exceptional customer service.
Providing examples of each technique and tips for successful implementation, this solution-oriented tool also includes:
* Self-assessments, brainstorming exercises, checklists, and worksheets
* Real-life examples of how companies have created enhanced experiences for their customers
* Helpful “how-to” tips on obtaining customer feedback, organizing employee focus groups, and boosting employee performance
* Unique, time-tested strategies for doing business, such as The Emotional Bank Account, The Five Loyalty Builders, and The Eleven Commandments for Good Listening
You can make every interaction with a customer meaningful, memorable, and beneficial for your business. All you have to do is CARE!
CARE to build a customer-focused company!
Why not order a copy for each of your managers as a special gift?
I attended the Learning Development Institute for Oklahoma University Medical Systems yesterday and can unequivocally say that your presentation was the absolute best that I have ever been witness to! I left with so many new ideas to try out in my department.
Thanks for everything you do. The affect you had on OU will be everlasting.
Andrew Martin, Radiation Therapy Manager
OU Medical Center - OKC
There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. - Washington Irving -
